With Brendan Rodgers confirming that Celtic defender, Carl Starfelt, will leave the club over the next few days, the news would have possibly come as a surprise to the Hoops support.
Starfelt has been excellent for us over the past two seasons. Between him and Cameron Carter-Vickers, the big Swede has helped create a Celtic backline that has helped deliver five trophies out of six.
And now, he is set to leave the club after Brendan Rodgers confirmed the news after Celtic’s win against Ross County on Flag Day.
Reacting to the update, former Celtic hero, Stan Petrov was surprised to learn of this latest development but does think Brendan Rodgers will use this as an opportunity to bring in a player that is more suited to the manager’s style of play.
Petrov said [Sky Sports post-match analysis], “I’m surprised because I think he still has more to offer to Celtic. But as you know, a new manager comes in and he’ll free another space for somebody he can bring in, somebody he can strengthen the squad with.
“It’s a normal process. Behind the scenes, there’s a lot going on. People moving out and people moving in. We talked about Brendan bringing his own players because the manager trusts players that he’s worked with or players that he identified when he was previously at different clubs and now he’s here, he just needs to identify players that works and fit into his style of play.”
To be honest, I was surprised as well. Of course, there were rumours abound that Starfelt could be the next Hoops player to depart Paradise but after the success he has had and the fact he was guaranteed Champions League group stage football, I thought that could have been enough to convince him to stay at the club for one more season.
Starfelt was always unfairly labelled as the weak link in Celtic’s defence. Ever since his league debut against Hearts at Tynecastle, the Swedish international seemed to carry a label that he was some sort of bomb scare in the heart of the Hoops defence.
That was simply untrue. Yes, he was prone to the odd error here and there but let’s not forget, he often played on the left side of defence and that in itself wasn’t natural to him. And in my humble opinion, he had infinitely more good games than bad at Celtic.
When he does eventually move on, I will wish him nothing but the best. Starfelt played such an important role at Celtic and if it wasn’t for the addition of Maik Nawrocki, the Swedish defender would have left a huge void at the club.
In other news, Brendan Rodgers may need to address one more position for Celtic in the transfer window
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
